Dealing with Corporate Logo Design

Often when we start a business we don’t consider the complete scope of the business. Some businesses will always be a small business. Some businesses are designed to grow into full corporations. You will also have to consider how you want to brand your company.

A company with a very small scope may not need to worry about branding. If you are not going to franchise your business and intend to just be a lone entity, you may not be as interested in your logo, trade marking, effects of colors, and branding. However, if you are starting a company that you want to expand significantly, these things are serious considerations. First you will want to consider how unique your company is.

The corporate logo is unique from other logos because you have to consider more than just whether it looks nice. The corporate logo will be reproduced across multiple mediums. If nothing else, there is a cost analysis associated with choosing a corporate logo. For example, it is cheap to print a logo in black and white. It is also cheap to print a logo with 1 – 3 colors. Once you move beyond 1 – 3 colors there are significant price increases. Also, how well will your logo work on different backgrounds? The more colorful a logo gets, the harder it may be to make it stand out against other colors. This leads us on to another question: will you want to have different versions of your logo for different backgrounds? How will this affect your branding? Will you want people to recognize the shape or the color of your logo? Will you want people to recognize both together as your logo?

Just as you choose a company mission statement, your logo should have a mission statement of sorts. It should indicate what you intend your logo to convey. You will want to think about what people should associate your logo with. Some logos associate a company with their product. Some logos associate a company with their ideology. You may want to consider if you will be changing the focus of your company in the future. Furthermore, if you are considering changing the focus of your company, then perhaps associating a logo with a product will make your logo obsolete in the future.

It is important to pick colors that reflect what you want them to. It is important to remember that while certain colors have certain meanings where you are concerned, the associations people make with color are highly affected by culture. For example, using red, blue and white in the USA makes people think of American Patriotism. In other countries they do not feel the same association. Red can mean danger, life, blood, or even love!

Finally you will want to go with a unique logo design. You should never use a template logo for a corporate logo design! You can use a company that provides pre-designed unique logos. Make sure that you ask your designer if the design is unique. The last thing you would want to see is another company with your logo design! Branding is a very important part of a corporation and you wouldn’t want to lose that just to save a few bucks.

Don’t let yourself be driven by price. Going for an expensive designer vs. a cheaper one doesn’t guarantee better quality. The prices that graphic designers charge vary wildly. Some companies have heavy overhead costs with keeping designers in-house. As a result the extensive overhead costs are passed onto you. Some companies keep designers on a contractual basis, these are much cheaper. Many online graphic designers are cheaper because they have removed their overhead by operating online. Any good designer will allow you to see samples before taking your money. Also, a good logo design company will have a large portfolio. You should feel comfortable asking the companies for references. A good logo design company should be able to provide you with no less than 20 happy customers who have purchased logos from them. Word of mouth is the life-blood of any business, especially a logo design one! Make sure that you are getting exactly what you want. Don’t go with a cheap designer just because their price is better. As long as you are getting the quality of work that you want, you should be happy with your designs.

It is important that you take all of these things into consideration when making a corporate logo. A corporate logo should be able to last the life of the corporation. Try to leave your personal preferences out of the decision process. Keep an open mind and think forward as you make your decision. Doing this will ensure that you design a logo that is geared towards the future.